It is obvious - if you don't plug a mic in you will here it very clearly. You will notice that as you flip out the LCD screen, as soon as it comes on there will be an audio buzz. It is a low level buzzing sound that is audible as soon as the screen lights up - NOT a hiss. You will here it instantly. I compared my 170 to a 150 on a shoot I've just completed and there was no evidence on the 150. It's only the 170 affected. Best thing to do - plug in headphones. Switch on camera. Pull out screen - if it's a dodgy model you'll hear the buzz (I guarantee!) and it IS easy to hear.

Jan at abcdv.com has posted some further news re this lamentable situation. It seems Sony will have a recall and has temporarily halted production.

http://www.abcdv.com/article/articleview/237/1/53/


Jim

Thanks for that Jim - an interesting read! Visual Impact north have now kindly offered to take back my camera and change it - they have some that don't have the buzz problem.. so not all the 170s to have come off the production line have the glitch.

Good news!

My vendor contacted me today and they tested the NTSC PD-170 and compared it to the NTSC PD-150. Both are the same when mesured on a scope. There are no noise recorded to tape. It seems the reported problem is only on PAL models. The audio amplifier on board the cam does generate some hiss when the levels are maxed out, but do not appear on tape (as the PD-150).

I'm glad to hear from you, Anthony and Frederic. How 'bout that? Everyone, send Jan flowers. Does anyone know what he likes? :-)
However, I must get thorough confirmation that this is a PAL issue only before going ahead with a purchase..........

Shawn

I'm waiting on that confirmation too, Shawn. Any legit reports of NTSC (?)affliction?

Dear PD 170 users/victims,
do I understand rightly that the hiss problem on the pd170 has not been solved to date, but that Sony is seeking to rectify the problem a.s.a.p.? I am thinking of buying one (PAL) - how will I be able to tell whether the cam is up-dated, i.e. with new software/circuiting (apart from testing the cam by ear)? One does wonder ...